VAN NUYS : Air Show Attendance and Funds Drop
Pinched pocketbooks may have contributed to a drop in attendance and funds raised for charity at this year’s Van Nuys Airport Expo, airport officials said Wednesday.
About 230,000 people attended the two-day event Saturday and Sunday, compared with 250,000 last year, said spokesperson Stacey Geere. Concession sales for local nonprofit groups also dropped from about $45,000 in 1993 to $30,300 this year.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Geere said. “Maybe people spent less money with the earthquake.”
The show featured dozens of vintage military aircraft on display, as well as sky-diving performances by the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team and helicopter rescue demonstrations by the Los Angeles Fire Department. The event was co-hosted by the Van Nuys Department of Airports and the Mid-San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce.
About 23 charities will still benefit from the show, including local Kiwanis and Rotary clubs and high school booster clubs, Geere said.
“We’re just pleased that the nonprofits were able to make money as in the past and will be able to use part of the money to recover from past earthquake losses,” Geere said.
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